"So it's the Blade Realm."
The middle-aged man from the Rune Sacred Land recognized Sima Ziyang's origin at a glance.
"Greetings, Senior from the Rune Sacred Land. I have a personal grudge with this Ye kid, so allow me to settle this score with him first."
Sima Ziyang was extremely respectful towards the Rune Sacred Land's middle-aged man.
"I have no wish to interfere in your personal grievances," the middle-aged man replied coolly, casting a cold glance at Ye Yunfei. "However, this kid wants to take this Soul Crystal vein right in front of me, which is tantamount to disrespecting our Rune Sacred Land. This Soul Crystal vein belongs to us."
"Sima Ziyang being here might draw in other powerful experts from the Blade Realm," Hun Lao sent a voice transmission to Ye Yunfei.
"Yes, that worries me too," Ye Yunfei replied, glancing at Sima Ziyang and nodding.
Given Ye Yunfei's strength, dealing with both Sima Ziyang and the Rune Sacred Land group wouldn't be difficult. However, he knew that the Rune Sacred Land and the Blade Realm had more formidable experts who had also entered this world, and they might be nearby. Getting entangled here could very well draw the true powerhouses of these two major forces, and he wasn't sure he could handle that.
"Let's leave first," Ye Yunfei decided after a moment's thought, transmitting his thoughts to Hun Lao.
With that, Ye Yunfei stomped his feet.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
One formation after another, both offensive and defensive, materialized continuously. Simultaneously, four or five teleportation formations appeared around Ye Yunfei's body—all of them just recently laid down by him.
"Not good! This fellow's trying to escape!" a tall Blade Realm member behind Sima Ziyang shouted immediately before leaping into the air, drawing his long blade and slashing towards Ye Yunfei.
The other Blade Realm and Rune Sacred Land members also launched their attacks.
However, Ye Yunfei was too fast. After activating the teleportation formations and using over a dozen large formations to block in front of him, a powerful transmission energy enveloped his body, teleporting him away.
Ye Yunfei noticed the spatial structure of this world was exceptionally sturdy, so the distance covered by his teleportation formations wasn't ideal.
In the next moment, Ye Yunfei's figure reappeared not far away. Without hesitation, he continued moving at high speed into the distance. With his formidable physical strength combined with various movement techniques, Ye Yunfei's speed reached an extreme.
"Kid, stop right there!"
The Rune Sacred Land's middle-aged man produced a yellow talisman and hurled it forward. The yellow talisman instantly pierced through space, reaching Ye Yunfei's back at astonishing speed before exploding violently, unleashing billowing energy that slammed directly into Ye Yunfei.
Ye Yunfei swung his longsword, deflecting the energy from the yellow talisman.
By now, members of both the Blade Realm and Rune Sacred Land from behind were already utilizing various methods to give chase.
Ye Yunfei employed his Mind Reading Art to interfere with the fastest among his pursuers, including the Rune Sacred Land's middle-aged man and two Blade Realm experts.
"Damn it! That kid's soul art is too strange! He can actually interfere with my thoughts!" one of the Blade Realm experts shouted in frustration.
As Ye Yunfei raced forward, he continuously threw volleys of Formation Flags behind him. These flags rapidly assembled into one large formation after another.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Formations continually manifested in Ye Yunfei's wake, obstructing his pursuers.
"Break for me!"
A Blade Realm man leapt up, gripping his blade with both hands. With a single slash, he cleaved two or three formations clean in half.
However, Ye Yunfei had laid down too many formations. As soon as he shattered these two or three, more appeared ahead.
The leading middle-aged man from the Rune Sacred Land was also exceptionally fast. He continuously threw out large quantities of talismans, rapidly dismantling the formations Ye Yunfei had set up. While his pace of dispelling formations was quick, these formations still managed to slow him down.
And just how fast was Ye Yunfei's movement speed? In a few moments, he had already put a great distance between them, disappearing without a trace.
"Damn it! He actually got away," the Rune Sacred Land's middle-aged man said, his face ugly with anger.
"Ye brat, just you wait. I will definitely find you and kill you personally," Sima Ziyang said through gritted teeth, staring ahead.
The other Blade Realm members also glared murderously in the direction Ye Yunfei had vanished, but by this time, they could no longer sense his aura.
Once Ye Yunfei left, he immediately employed various methods to conceal his presence. At the same time, Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm, Hu Miao, and Hun Lao each used their own secret arts and techniques to help mask Ye Yunfei's traces and aura.
"Now that you're targeted by the Blade Realm and the Rune Sacred Land, and since members of the Guardian Faction have also entered Tianmu Shenjun's Cave, you must be extremely cautious moving forward," Hun Lao said to Ye Yunfei. "I think for now, if you encounter any from those two or three factions, avoid conflict if you can. It's best to steer clear."
"Understood. I know my limits," Ye Yunfei nodded.
He understood Hun Lao's meaning. Whether it was the Rune Sacred Land, the Blade Realm, or the Guardian Faction, all of them had dispatched truly powerful experts this time. If he encountered those powerhouses, with his current strength, he wouldn't be a match. So avoidance was indeed the best strategy.
"It seems I'm still too weak," Ye Yunfei couldn't help but sigh. "With my current power, I simply can't confront the true experts of those factions."
"Indeed," Hun Lao nodded. "Given your current strength, if you meet the real powerhouses of those major forces, you definitely wouldn't be able to handle it."
After that, Ye Yunfei continued forward.
Not long after, he found himself arriving at an ancient, desolate plain.
White mist floated above this expanse. Looking into the distance, only the horizon could be seen.
"Strange, there seems to be nothing here," Ye Yunfei thought as he walked across this vast, barren plain, hearing only the echoes of his own footsteps.
"I always feel something is off about this place," Hu Miao suddenly said to Ye Yunfei.
"Indeed," Ye Yunfei agreed, glancing at the vast, limitless plain before him. "Coming to this plain, everything seems eerily quiet. There's nothing here—no animals, not even plants. Just some long-abandoned ruins."
All he could see were scattered broken bricks, shattered tiles, and a few collapsed or semi-collapsed walls on the ground.
"Look, there's a stone tablet over there!" Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm suddenly exclaimed, pointing in a direction.
Ye Yunfei's gaze immediately followed. Sure enough, standing on the distant, expansive plain was a tall stone stele, apparently inscribed with characters.
Ye Yunfei focused his eyes and saw four large characters carved on it: Heart-Searching Plain.
"What is this place? Is this stone tablet odd? Could it be a treasure?" Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm immediately started walking towards the stone tablet.
"Be careful," Hun Lao spoke up. "I just remembered this place had no stone tablet earlier. Now one has suddenly appeared; there might be something strange about it."
"That's right," Ye Yunfei said, his heart chilled by Hun Lao's words. "When we first stepped onto this plain, there was definitely no stone tablet. This tablet appeared out of nowhere. Something is definitely off."
Ye Yunfei trusted his own observation: he had not seen any stone tablet upon entering this plain. This tablet's appearance was far too abrupt, and despite his Soul Power level, he had not detected it in the slightest.
By this time, Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm had already reached the base of the stone tablet.
"This stone tablet doesn't seem particularly special!" Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm said after sensing the tall stele.
At that very moment, increasingly more white mist began to emerge from the space surrounding the stone tablet.
"That's strange. Why is fog suddenly appearing?" Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm wore a puzzled expression.
"Be cautious. There might be some high-level formations or restrictions here," Hun Lao advised.
"But I'm not sensing any formations or restrictions here," Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm shook his head.
The white mist in the surrounding space grew thicker and thicker, transforming into billowing fog.
"Careful, there's definitely something strange here," Ye Yunfei said, frowning as he watched the space around them begin to be sealed by the rolling white mist.
"Master, I sense a hint of Illusion Dao energy," Hu Miao suddenly spoke up.
"I think there might be an Illusion Formation here, and this fog is being released by it. However, even I couldn't detect this Illusion Formation immediately, which means its grade must be very high and its power extremely strong. We need to be careful," Hu Miao added.
"With you, a Heavenly Fox of the Taigu Era, here, what do we have to fear from any Illusion Formation? Your race is the ancestor of the Illusion Dao," Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm remarked.
"Beyond the heavens there are skies, beyond man there are men," Hu Miao retorted, pursing her lips. "Though our Taigu Heavenly Fox tribe is naturally adept in illusion arts, we have never proclaimed ourselves to be number one under heaven."
"However, I'm not entirely sure if there's really an Illusion Formation here. I can't perceive it accurately," Hu Miao admitted.
Just then, a giant bloody maw suddenly appeared nearby, lunging at Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm for a vicious bite.
"What kind of monster is this!" Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm swung his fist, striking forward with a boom. The bloody maw was directly pulverized by his punch.
But then, more bloody maws began to appear in the surrounding space. One after another, they extended from the towering white mist, lunging and biting at Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm and Ye Yunfei.
Then Ye Yunfei saw one grotesque monster after another charging out from within the mist, claws bared and fangs sharp, surrounding and attacking both him and Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm.
Ye Yunfei swung his fist, pulverizing two or three monsters on the spot.
These monsters looked like giant toads, but they each had a long tail trailing from their rear ends, like thick black steel whips. With the slightest flick, these tails could shatter space.
Their mouths were particularly large, and when attacking, they spewed forth billowing mist.
This mist, once expelled, immediately sealed the surrounding space, making it impossible to distinguish directions.
"Why do I feel this mist spewed by these monsters seems to be formed from Illusion Dao energy? It has a disorienting effect," Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm discovered quickly and shouted aloud.